Dominant political organization city-states cf. to Early Dynastic Mesopotamia

Central authority: palace

Fierce competition

Trade network involves connections to Northern Mesopotamia

First written records appear, imported from Assyria

Private archives of merchants: historical primary source

Palace in Assur

Palace in Kanesh

Edict of Telipinu

Long historical pre-amble covering ca. 100 y of a ruling dynasty/state (cf. to modern state of Turkey 85 y)

Declared aim is to lay down formal rules of succession:

‘Let a prince, a son of the first rank, become king. If there is no prince of the first rank, let him who is a son for the second rank become king. But if there is no prince, no heir, let them take an antiyant-husband (son-in-law) for her who is a daughter for the first rank and let him become king.’ (from Bryce 2005)

Bloodshed within the dynasty banned with legal sanctions.

Hittite King and Queen Praying to the Weather God

Hattusha - Boğazköy

150 km E of Ankara

Todayopen-air museum

Center of a National History Park

Since1986 one of Turkey’s nine sites in the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage

Since 2001 the clay tablet archives at Hattusha have been included in the UNESCO ‘Memory of the World’ list.